Theory of Time
by Pensulliwen
Summary: In the confrontation between Team 7 and Hebi, Sakura's determination to retrieve Sasuke leads to the two being trapped in a cave, both nearly out of chakra, with nothing to pass the time until their rescue/suffocation but conversation. Eventual SasuSaku.
1. Reunion

**Full Summary: **In the confrontation between Team 7 and Hebi, just after Sasuke finally succeeds in killing Itachi, both sides are worn down and ready to end it. Sakura's determination to retrieve Sasuke leads to the two being trapped in a cave, both nearly out of chakra, with nothing to pass the time until their rescue or suffocation but conversation. After 3 years, what is there to say? What has changed, is anything the way it used to be? And what the _Hell_ is taking the 'rescue team' so long?

Eventual SasuSaku, very dialogue-heavy.

**Spoilers:** Chapter 345

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**Theory of Time**

**By Allegra**

Time is relative; it speeds up and slows down according to what is occurring around you. It slowly drifts by on lazy Saturday afternoons, watching clouds pass through the sky as the day begins to wane. In the heat of battle it's fast, like everything else around you. Adrenaline pumping through your veins, electricity in the air, a series of split-second decisions that will either lead you to victory or death. You stay on your toes, think, try not to panic. In some instances you swear time must have slowed down for you to counter in time, in others everything happens so fast you barely comprehend what's happening as your body acts on its own out of nothing but self-preservation instincts. You can taste the danger in the air, the sense of peril is almost thrilling and you're on a natural high. Because time isn't slowing down, and who knows where you'll be a second from now; you might very well be dead.

Time is relative, because even in the heat of battle, even as she felt power flowing into her hand, concentrating her chakra as she slammed her fist into the mouth of a man she didn't know, even as he crashed into a wall, going clean through it, and even as she kept alert for any surprise attack; she was aware of his presence the second he appeared. She felt his chakra, but beyond that she felt him. And even as the assaulted man with curiously sharp teeth got up, cracking his neck for effect and swinging a sword that must have been taller than he was, time slowed down as Sakura saw the face she'd been searching for. The face had changed, the look in his eyes was colder than it had been before; and they had seldom been warm. But even through all the emotions flitting through her mind with the commotion of battle raging on around her, their eyes locked, and time slowed down long enough for her to take in his face before turning in time to send the charging man flying.

She didn't need to turn around to know that Sasuke wasn't where she'd last spotted him, but she didn't panic. She'd seen in his eyes that this was a battle he'd stick around for; that she wouldn't have to worry about him wandering off while she had her back turned. She knew that by the end one of them would have the other pinned, and she was thankful that time was relative. It slowed down long enough for her to take him in, and even while she dodged a woman with fiery hair time slowed down long enough for her to notice the way a chidori, whether from Sasuke or Kakashi she wasn't sure, had hit the rock wall next to them. Karin fell back as she took in the way it cracked, unstable, and Sakura was thankful that she had time to see that she had been wrong, they were all falling back. Sasuke landed near her, stooped, either recovering from an attack or a dodge and Sakura was thankful that somehow the lack of time allowed her to make the split-second decision to slam her chakra-powered fist into the splitting rock that was not only around them but above as well, sending it crashing down on them. As they were cut off from the others and attempting to run farther in, Sakura was cursing the way she could barely keep ahead of the falling rocks when she blacked out.

* * *

**Chapter One: Reunion**

The first thing Sasuke was aware of as he drifted into consciousness was pain. A lot of pain, seeming to be focused around the back of his head. As memories flooded back into his throbbing head, the first thought he had was 'stupid'. He wasn't thinking about Sakura's antic, though that was certainly something to consider, suicidal madwoman. His mind was focused on himself, how the great Sasuke Uchiha had been taken down by a rock. He was drained by his fight with Itachi barely hours before, yes, but that wasn't why he'd been caught. The rock had hit him because out of the corner of his eye, he'd seen a pink-haired girl fall. He'd been caught because he hesitated, because even as the small boulders rained down on them his body was half-ready to turn around and go back for her.

'Stupid.'

"You're awake." A statement, not a question. Sasuke's eyes shifted to his right, to see Sakura sitting propped up against a wall, hugging her knees to her chest. Her eyes were different. They didn't look at all scared or worried, she simply looked complacent. Her face seemed basically the same, a little less round and child-like than he'd remembered. From what he could see of her she looked more toned, almost a bit rugged. She sighed and lowered her knees, revealing that her legs certainly weren't the only things that had done some growing. Sasuke hastily moved his eyes back to face the other wall.

"I have no idea how long you were out, if that's what you're wondering. I only just woke up a few minutes ago." Sakura supplied. Sasuke remained silent. It was pitch black, without the sharingan he probably wouldn't have been able to see Sakura at all. Which led to the question of how exactly she'd known he was awake- but that wasn't what he wanted to ask. Sasuke was a man of few words; he chose most of them carefully.

"Why are you in here?" He asked at length. She looked a bit puzzled by his question and pulled a face she usually reserved for insulting Naruto's intelligence, though she wasn't sure if he could see her.

"Because in case you didn't notice, there was a cave in. Big rocks in way." She replied, slowly enunciating each word. Sasuke growled slightly, Sakura was not the person he wanted mocking him right now.

"I realized that." He said through gritted teeth, he could swear she was smiling. His eyes flicked back over to the adjacent side of the cave in annoyance. If she was smiling he might have to kill her. "I saw you earlier, you focused charka in your hand and punched through stone. You could have gotten out of here while I was still…" He trailed off.

"Passed out?" She supplied.

"Unconscious." He returned in an acidic voice. It was her damn fault he was there in the first place, for more reasons than one; though he didn't plan on letting her know the second. This wasn't exactly how he'd expected their reunion would be, if it ever happened; his picture had a lot less sarcasm and a lot more fawning coming from Sakura. A lot less pain in his head as well.

"I could have." Sakura agreed. "I still have enough charka left for a couple good punches, but I'm almost out. I don't know how deep we're buried in here, and I don't know what's going on outside. If I'd done that then I may well have emerged, half-dead, only to find your… _associates_ waiting for me, or I might not have even made it that far. Then I'd be stuck in here, defenseless, with you, which is barely more inviting. Besides, we've been trying to capture you for a long time," He'd looked over sometime during her monologue and saw that she looked a bit smug here. "I just did."

Sasuke's brow furrowed at that and he forced himself up, despite the protest from his head. He'd give this to Sakura, she was just as annoying as he'd remembered, but in a completely different way. He'd be damned if he allowed her to look down on him.

"Captured." He muttered to himself, the idea of her capturing him was ludicrous at best. Staggering to his feet, he eyed the stone around him, trying to figure out which spot was weakest. Sakura probably did have more chakara than he did right now, but he was still far above her. If he could just manage one more-

"You're not going to attempt chidori, are you?" Sakura asked, standing up as well. He saw her blink several times and look around, squinting. He felt himself smirk a bit. It was silly to get smug over such a thing, but _he_ could see.

"Sasuke?" She asked. The enclosure they were trapped in wasn't very big, but it was impossible to tell that it had been midday before the avalanche. Sakura stumbled a bit in the darkness and Sasuke's hand automatically shot out to steady her. The squeak of surprise she emitted upon their contact made it worth it, maybe she really hadn't changed that much after all. When it came down to it, he was the one who had changed, wasn't he?

"No." He said finally in response to her earlier question. His thoughts flickered back to his fight with Itachi. "I'm out." He felt her nod beside him, taking a step away from him to examine the wall.

"We could have been out for hours." She commented. "The air supply in here won't last forever."

Sasuke took in this information wordlessly. Surely they hadn't been out for that long; someone would have gotten them out by that point. Unless they'd all killed each other, that could present a problem. Still, he'd be damned if he went down as the mighty ninja who suffocated to death after a cave-in, they'd be laughing at him for generations.

"You could punch your way through. Even if you don't make it all the way, I could finish it." Sasuke suggested. Sakura shook her head.

"That'll have to be our absolute last resort. With so little charka, I wouldn't have time to concentrate; we might wind up just burying ourselves alive. Let's just wait; I'm sure they'll get us out. I don't see why we're still in here, honestly, unless they're all to worn out to do anything." Sakura mused, sitting down. "I kind of doubt it."

"They're probably just too busy fighting to get us out right now." Sasuke said, reluctantly sitting down. He didn't like the idea of trusting his life to his team, or anyone but himself for that matter. He glanced over at Sakura to catch her glaring at him indignantly.

"My-_our_ friends aren't just going to keep fighting while we're in here." She corrected herself. Sasuke looked away.

'Mine might.' He thought, wincing internally. Suikotsu would without a second thought, Jugo might do something. Karin… he shuddered involuntarily. He'd be damned before he trusted his life in the hands of Karin.

"I suppose they might have killed each other." Sasuke said emotionlessly. He caught a flicker of fear in Sakura, but it was quickly replaced by anger.

"I don't know about your team, but mine's fine." She replied stubbornly. Judging from her worried demeanor, she was trying to convince herself more than him. Sasuke shrugged, not feeling the need to defend his team. He didn't really care if they were dead or not, but doubted that they'd be beaten that easily.

"He sees you as a brother, you know." Sakura said. He glanced up to see her glaring determinedly at the ground. When he remained silent, she finally glanced up at him. Getting a better look, what he'd mistaken for worry looked a lot more like anger. "Naruto. He sees you as a brother, even after everything." There was accusation in her eyes now. 'Even after you tried to kill him', then.

"I only have- I don't have a brother." Sasuke corrected himself. The same answer he'd given Sai a year ago would no longer suffice. He didn't have a brother anymore. Sakura took in this information with only mild surprise.

"You killed him?" She asked. He nodded, face blank. She starred at him for a few minutes, trying to analyze his expression, before looking away. He wondered what she saw. "Congratulations, or is that not the right sentiment?"

Sasuke almost laughed, he thought that the corner of his mouth might have twitched. He remembered Sakura begging to go with him years ago, saying that she'd help him kill Itachi. Looking back, though she'd been filled with conviction, he didn't think she'd known what that really meant. She had never killed anyone before; neither had he. He looked over at her now, mildly curious. He wondered if she'd killed anyone yet. He certainly had, and something about the way she carried herself now made him think that she had too. He didn't want to ask.

Sakura sighed slightly as they drifted into silence, each lost in their own thoughts. What was she doing? Here she had Sasuke trapped in a cave, after three years, and she had nothing to say to him. Who knew what would happen once they were out? She'd thought about all the things she wanted to say to him when they finally met as a pastime before. She hadn't been sure if she wanted to punch him or hug him, but she'd known that she wanted to do _something_ All they'd managed so far was trivial banter and arguments. At least he hadn't tried to kill her. She'd been afraid of meeting Sasuke, she wasn't sure what to expect. It seemed like he hadn't really changed all that much, and yet so much had changed. She leaned back, resting her head against a rock, and wondered what on earth the rest of her team was doing. Surely at least Naruto had noticed her sudden disappearance?

* * *

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled, pounding his fist against the rocks.

"Will you give that a rest?" Suigetsu demanded with a roll of his eyes. He twirled his sword restlessly, annoyed at the temporary cease-fire. It had taken the others a good ten minutes to make him stop trying to chop off Naruto's limbs after Kakashi and Jugo had negotiated something that resimbled a treaty and he was antsy to get back on task.

"They're both still alive." Karin said, pressing her face against the rock. "But Sasuke-kun's out of chakra! The girl still has some, what if she tries to do something unspeakable to Sasuke-kun?!"

"That's something you'd do, Karin." Suigetsu reminded her, trying to forget her declaration of wanting to 'ravage him in his sleep'. She glared at him in return as Naruto took a step away from her.

"But how far in are they?" Kakashi interrupted.

"It's hard to tell." Jugo replied, leaning his ear against the ground. "Earth worms are harder to communicate with than other animals, they don't really have any depth perception. Pretty far though."

Kakashi twitched slightly. Sasuke had managed to rustle up some pretty weird freaks alright. He admired Sakura's quick thinking, but… wished that she had put a little more thought into it.

"I could turn into water and seep through the cracks." Suigetsu offered. While team 7 eyed him strangely, Karin just rolled her eyes.

"And then do what? Have 3 people stuck in there instead of two?" She demanded.

"I'm just trying to help, bitch." He replied.

"Well your stupidity isn't helping, asshole!"

Suigetsu saluted her with his middle finger and the others struggled to ignore them as Karin launched into a verbal tirade.

"I could use a Rasengan." Naruto chipped in.

"I have enough chakra left for one Chidori, shark boy over there could probably slash it to bits too, that's not the problem." Kakashi mused. "The issue is there are too many unknown factors to do anything. We don't know how thick or stable it is, if we act too rashly we could wind up bringing the rest down on those two. Not to mention we don't know whether or not they're awake, they might be unconscious right now."

"Well we have to do something!"

"They'll run out of air eventually." Sai said expressionlessly.

"I know!" Kakashi yelled, pinching his brow. This wouldn't be half as difficult if everyone would stop being 'helpful', shut up and let him think. "I know, we're on a time limit. This isn't an impossible problem to solve, we just need to calm down and consider how to best use our abilities to get in there. First of all," he turned to face Hebi. "what exactly do you guys do?"


	2. The Reason

**Theory of Time**

**Chapter Two: The Reason**

_AN: Thank you so much to everyone who favorited this story, and especially to those who took the time to leave a quick review! Just a heads up, this was supposed to be a one-shot, but it took on a life of its own so I split it up; point being there are only 3 chapters. Here be a long one._

"Do you really not care?"

It was impossible to tell how much time had passed since they lapsed into silence, but Sakura had been wrestling over whether or not she should ask that question since the beginning of it. She desperately wanted to know, but was deathly afraid of his answer. She wanted him to say he cared, but it was so much easier to imagine him glancing up at her and saying 'no' than what she wanted to hear; which was why she almost didn't ask. Curiosity won out in the end and she tried to look nonchalant when he turned his head to look at her. She swallowed.

"About everything, about us." She continued quietly. 'about me.' She added in her head. Sasuke looked away from her.

"I don't care." He said tonelessly.

"Not about our village." Sakura pressed. He shook his head, no.

"Not about Naruto?" Another slight movement, he continued to look away from her.

"About.. me?" She finally asked, trying to keep her voice steady. He finally looked at her, and she knew what his answer would be the second their eyes met.

"No."

Sakura nodded, taking it in stride.

"Didn't think so." She replied, shrugging. She was quiet for a moment before continuing. "So what exactly happened with Orochimaru? Did you kill him?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because I'm slightly curious and have nothing better to do than ask."

"Why should I tell you?" He demanded. Sakura raised her eyebrows at him. He stared back a few seconds for good measure. "I absorbed him." He finally answered. Sakura gave him a perturbed look.

"You _absorbed_ him?"

Sasuke nodded, allowing a few snakes to crawl out of his robes. Sakura pulled in her legs as they slithered towards her, tongues flicking out to taste the air.

"Afraid of snakes?" Sasuke asked, his voice bemused. Sakura rolled her eyes, kicking one and sending it flying back towards him. It landed by his feet and sent Sakura a dirty look before gliding back into one of his sleeves.

"Petrified." She returned, voice oozing with sarcasm. She thought he looked a bit unconvinced. She remained still as one of the other snakes began to wrap around her leg, determined to prove that she wasn't so much as uncomfortable around the thing. Honestly, did he think she was 10?

"Do you think that I haven't changed at all?" She demanded. "I'm not twelve, and I'm certainly not afraid of snakes."

Sasuke nodded, accepting this information wordlessly. Another snake began to coil around Sakura's waist and she stood up, untwining it gently. The snakes' smooth scales were cold, but not unpleasant. She bent over and allowed it to slither off her arm and back towards Sasuke, the other followed suit. She straightened up, placing one hand on her hip as she watched them go.

"This is a mission, you know. Capturing you. Naruto thinks of you as a brother, he's determined to find you and bring you back. I'm only here on orders. So if you thought that I spent every night thinking about you after you left me like that, you couldn't be more wrong." It wasn't every night, exactly. It was often enough, but he didn't need to know that. Sasuke remained silent. Sakura's brow creased angrily; why wouldn't he say anything? The last time they'd seen each other he's left her unconscious on a park bench, she wanted to erase that picture from his memory. She didn't want him to remember her as being that vulnerable to him.

"Did you think that I'd be exactly the way you left me?" She challenged.

"No." He answered solemnly. "I didn't think about you."

The words hit Sakura like a knee to the gut. She knew that, God she knew that, why did it have to hit her so hard when he said it?

"Good." She muttered, sitting back down and facing away from him. As minutes ticked by unnoted she marveled at how slowly time seemed to pass in dark silence. Air was something they might really have to start worrying about soon, shouldn't the others have gotten them out yet? What if something really had happened? Her hand balled into a fist unconsciously. She'd kill those freaks if they'd done anything to her team. She was their medical ninja, if someone had gotten hurt…

She looked over at Sasuke worriedly. He certainly wasn't someone she would look to for comfort, but perhaps his plan had been better after all. She was about to speak up when she noticed the blood. From where she'd been sitting earlier she'd only seen his profile, now she could see the back of his head. A drop of blood trickled down Sasuke's neck, he brushed it irritably. She should have noticed him doing that earlier.

"You're still bleeding?" She asked in surprise, getting back to her feet. She didn't know how long it had been since the cave-in, but the blood on her head had already clotted by the time she came to; and he had woken up after her. He didn't respond, but began to apply pressure to it with one hand, watching her approach warily. He grabbed her wrist when she moved to examine his head.

"Let me look at it, I'm a medical ninja." She said, trying to pull her wrist back. His grip tightened and she threw him an annoyed look in response. "I've been training under Tsunade for 3 years, I can fix it." She insisted, yanking her arm back.

"It's fine." He muttered wincing slightly as he pushed harder on the wound.

"Stop that, it's not helping." She ordered, actually slapping his hand away. "Now turn around so I can get a better look." He looked at her incredulously.

"Now." She said firmly. Well, he certainly wasn't going to do it after that, he'd rather bleed to death. Sakura huffed when she realized that he had no plan of complying.

"Just as stubborn as I remember." She muttered, attempting to pry him away from the wall forcibly. Sasuke panicked a bit when he realized that she was succeeding. He tried to convince himself that he was just tired from his last fight as he moved willingly to cover her success. He hoped that wasn't a self-satisfied smile he'd caught out of the corner of his eye; he might have to kill her if it was.

Sasuke tensed as he felt her fingers trace the wound on his head. Her touch was gentle; it didn't hurt, but it made him uncomfortable. He didn't like people touching him. Fists he could deal with, Sakura's tender touch was something unknown to him. He felt a warm, tingly sensation in the back of his head and was about to move away when Sakura's other hand jutted out to stop him. She held him steady as she concentrated on knitting his skin back together. The feeling faded after a few seconds and she released him; he immediately moved a couple feet away before feeling the back of his head. There was more blood than he'd thought there would be, but touching the skin didn't hurt. He felt a line of smooth skin parting his hair; scar tissue. He considered thanking her but bit his tongue, nodding instead.

"Sorry I didn't notice sooner." She said with a sigh. "I can barely see in here even now that my eyes have adjusted, you should have said something."

"I barely noticed it." Sasuke lied easily. No sense in her thinking he was a wimp. He glanced over at her and noticed her frowning at the ground. She looked upset, but he couldn't imagine why.

"What?" He'd asked before he could stop himself. Concern was not the sentiment that he wanted to project. She looked up at him and smiled slightly.

"Nothing." She answered, slouching and returning her focus to her knees. Sasuke grimaced, trying to recall anything he'd done in the recent minutes to upset her. Was she upset that he hadn't thanked her? He was pondering that possibility when his sharingan picked up the source of her displeasure.

"You're out of chakra." He stated. Surprise flitted across Sakura's face before she masked it.

"No, I still have some left." She lied. She'd gotten quite good at that, without his eyes he might have believed her.

"The sharingan can see chakra levels, you're out now." He said confidently. She scowled.

"It wasn't enough to get us out anyway." She said as offhandedly as she could manage. That was probably true, but now he could see that her irritation was aimed at herself. She had used the last of her chakara to heal her enemy, leaving herself drained and giving him the upper hand. That was very stupid, and she knew it.

Sasuke considered continuing but stopped himself, deciding to let the subject go.

"Who were they, anyway? Your team?" Sakura asked. Sasuke looked at her blankly, confused. "Where did you find them?" She supplied.

"They were Orochimaru's underlings, or test subjects." He amended. "They had abilities I needed to find Itachi." How odd, he didn't feel anything when he said that name. Not anger,disgust; certainly not remorse, but not satisfaction either.

"Like what?" Sakura quipped.

"Jugo can communicate with animals, Karin can track people by their chakra levels, and Suigetsu can turn into water." He answered. Why was he telling her that? He couldn't see any harm coming from it, but there was no reason to.

"Why would you need that last one?" She asked curiously.

"He can change his body shape too. When he increases the size of his limbs, his strength grows proportionally in the process. I wanted him to occupy Itachi's partner while I killed him." Sasuke answered. Sakura nodded, she remembered the one with shark-teeth changing his body.

"So he's really dead?" She asked at length. Sasuke's jaw tightened slightly, not approving of the direction the conversation was heading. He opted to not respond.

"What are you going to do now?" She prompted after a couple minutes.

"I don't know." He replied stoically.

"You could come back." She suggested, though he didn't detect much hope in her voice. "We're dragging you back one way or another, and you have no reason to resist anymore, do you?"

"I'd rather not be executed." Sasuke replied simply. Sakura flushed slightly.

"They wouldn't do that." She muttered. True he was a traitor to their village, a missing nin who had attempted to kill a fellow team mate on his way out; but he hadn't, and that was the point, right? Tsunade would understand, maybe not everyone in the village would understand but they would come to accept him eventually… right?

Her deliberating silence was all the strength Sasuke needed to add to his case. Noting his smug air, Sakura frowned.

"They wouldn't, I wouldn't let them." She replied, more forcefully this time. "Neither would Naruto, Kakashi sensei, or anyone from our year."

Sasuke shrugged, unconvinced. He noted her expression go from determinated to irritation at his demeanor and tried not to smile. He loved making her angry. There might have been something perverse about that; he thought that her smile was what he'd missed the most, but it might have been the way she scowled when she was pissed off. The way she was crossing her arms, stubborn to a fault, because she knew she was right. Sakura sighed in the middle of his musings, deciding to take another approach.

"Where would you go then?" She asked. Another shrug. "Do you care?" If he shrugged one more time she might have to rip his arms off.

"Have you given up on your other goals then?" That one caught him off guard.

"What other goals?" He asked, confused. Killing Itachi had been his life, his only true goal.

"Didn't you want to beat Naruto?" She questioned.

"I already did." He replied, relaxing a bit. If that was all she had-

"That was years ago, you've both grown. You don't want to see who would win now?"

"I don't care." He replied, refusing to take the bait. Sakura smiled slightly at his obstinacy. Sasuke scowled in return. It was definitely the anger he missed; her condescending, self-assured smiles were annoying. When they were directed at him, anyway.

"What about your other goal?" She continued, ignoring his attitude. He considered ignoring her, but his curiosity was sparked and he gave in after a few seconds of silent deliberation.

"What other goal?"

"The one you said on our first day as Team Seven." She replied. His brows knit together in confusion, trying to recall that day. 'I'm Sasuke Uchiha, my goal is to kill someone..' what else had he said? Sakura rolled her eyes a bit at his puzzlement.

"I doubt that you really understood what you were saying at the time." She said, smiling a bit as her cheeks took on a pinkish tint. Alright, now he was _very_ curious.

"What did I say?" He demanded, feeling like he was being left out of a joke. She chuckled a bit before answering him, it was truly infuriating.

"You said that you would kill your brother, and 'repopulate the Uchiha clan'" She replied, laughing outright at his expression. "Well you might have said 'restore', but you get the general idea."

Sasuke turned away from her, praying that her eyes weren't good enough to detect the heat rising to his face. He knew they weren't, but he felt the need to face the opposite direction anyway. He had to ask. He mentally kicked himself as she continued to giggle at his embarrassment. If she didn't stop that in exactly 3 seconds he swore he'd kill her.

"Not something you hear every 12 year old shouting, though I'm sure every girl in Konoha was thrilled." Sakura laughed.

"Shut up." He growled. "You were one of them." He added when her expression remained bemused. Honestly, what would it take to scare her anymore? Her face fell a bit at that, and he wasn't sure whether or not he was happy about it.

"Yeah, I was." She replied, eyes downcast. She glanced up at him to asses his expression. "_Was_." She repeated, heart fluttering a bit. He smirked. "And I didn't want to have your babies!" She added, causing his grin to broaden. She decided to just stop talking at that point.

"What exactly did you want, then?" Sasuke asked tauntingly. He was enjoying watching her squirm uncomfortably quite a bit more than he should have. Sakura seemed to soften a bit as she answered.

"I wanted you to love me back." She replied simply. She looked offended when he scoffed in return.

"I think it's about time you got over the infatuation of yours."

"It was not an infatuation— and I'm past over it!" She mentally kicked herself for not reversing the order of those statements. And the Uchiha across from her was still smiling smugly, the arrogant bastard.

"And you said you'd changed." Sasuke remarked sarcastically. His condescending tone was enough to make her want to throttle him. Oh how he would regret this when she had her chakra back; and enough energy to stand up.

"Look whose talking," She hissed in retaliation. "You're _grinning_."

His face fell at that, as if he was realizing that fact for the first time. Face feeling oddly stretched, his expression returned to blank indifference.

"S'not a bad thing." Sakura mumbled, looking away from the transformation sadly. Damn, she shouldn't have said that. "Emotions aren't a bad thing, Uchiha. They only make you human. There's a time and place for them."

"Is in front of the enemy the right place?" He asked emotionlessly.

"Am I your enemy?" She challenged.

"Are we on a first name basis?"

"Am I your enemy, Sasuke?" She corrected grudgingly. His expression remained even, but he seemed irritated.

"You used to call me Sasuke-kun."

"And you found it annoying." Sakura stated, perplexed by his reaction. Sasuke clamped his mouth shut before he could say anything else he'd regret.

"Do you want me to call you that?" She prompted. No response, as expected. "Sasuke-kun." She tested, smiling a bit at the familiar feel of it. She thought she saw his eyes soften a bit, but that was ridiculous. Sasuke was many things, sentimental wasn't one of them.

"So assuming we get out of here alive, plans for the future?" Sakura asked again. They only had so much time in here, eventually they'd either be rescued or suffocate, and he was going to accept the fact that he had nothing better to do than return to her before then. With her. To their village, that they both happened to live in. Not _with_ her. It was a coincident of shared destinations.

When he finally answered she was sure she had misheard him. He reluctantly cracked a smile at her expression and repeated himself.

"I suppose I should get to restoring my clan."


	3. Home

_"So assuming we get out of here alive, plans for the future?" Sakura asked again. When he finally answered she was sure she had misheard him. He reluctantly cracked a smile at her expression and repeated himself._

_"I suppose I should get to restoring my clan."_

**Theory of Time**

**Chapter Three: Home**

Sakura frowned slightly.

"With who, that slut you brought with you?" She demanded. She was _not_ jealous, she just thought he could do better was all. Sasuke briefly considered confirming this to see her reaction, but found the idea too terrifying to agree with.

"No." He answered slowly, and was it just his imagination or did her scowl lift just a bit?

"Who, then?" She asked, voice still disapproving. "Just a random prostitute, or does it matter to you?"

"Is that really what you think of me?" He growled. He may have betrayed their village, come a hair's width away from killing his best friend and broken her heart, but Sasuke did have some sense of honor. Sakura looked a bit embarrassed by his tone, but shrugged and looked away.

"That's not how I'd do it." He insisted icily.

"Well then I guess perhaps you shouldn't come back to Konoha after all, I doubt any girl there would accept the proposal of a traitor to the village. Besides," she continued irritably, "you don't know the first thing about love."

"Love has nothing to do with it." He replied. She snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Typical. No, love has absolutely _nothing_ to do with marriage; I pity your wife. If you even find one." She added. Sasuke frowned.

"Stop that." He snapped. Sakura raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Stop making me sound like that." He had no idea why it bothered him, but he hated the way she was talking about it. Was that really how she thought of him now?

"Maybe you'll have better luck somewhere else." Sakura muttered with a shrug, displeased with the direction the conversation had taken. Sasuke wasn't going to come, he was going off somewhere to get married and have little Uchihas. Wonderful.

"I could find a wife in Konoha." He retorted.

"Oh yeah, who?" She asked, rising to the challenge. Perhaps there was some stock to be had in reverse psychology. "Not even Ino-pig wants you now."

"I don't want to marry Ino, she's annoying."

Sakura was caught between smugness over a battle long since abandoned and annoyance at the slight on her friend. She decided to just move on from it.

"Who, then?"

"I could marry you." Sasuke said offhandedly. Sakura spluttered indignantly as butterflies rose in her stomach.

"No you could _not_." She fumed. Sasuke frowned.

"Yes I could."

"I'm afraid marriage requires consent from both parties, these days. So no, you can't." She replied, glaring at him. Sasuke returned her expression in kind, resent and confusion clear on his face.

"Why not?" He asked, as if entertaining the idea for her sake. Overconfident prick.

"Because I know you." She responded simply. He looked unconvinced of this, and she continued. "You'd have better luck with someone who thinks you're a traitor, I know you're not. And I know that even if we got married, you wouldn't love me. You just want an heir. All you need for a wife is a body."

"You don't know me." He hissed, seething. What did she know? She didn't understand anything, not a goddamn thing! Who was she to speak of what he wanted?

"You obviously don't know me either, if you think that I'd agree to that." She sniffed in response.

"You don't know me." He repeated, edging towards her. Sakura shifted back instinctively, about to question his sudden movement when she caught a determind glint in his eyes that sent that weird flipping sensation through her stomach.

"Don't you da-" She was abruptly cut off by Sasuke's chapped lips pressing against hers forcefully. It didn't mean anything, she told her stomach feebly, and really there was no reason for her heart to beat quite that sporadically. He was just trying to prove a point and– hell. She must have been an idiot to wrap her arms around him, pulling him closer. And maybe she was kissing him back; her actions were beyond her control by this point.

But the way he wound an arm around the small of her back while his other hand ran through her hair, it certainly didn't seem like there was any motivation behind it but passion– and maybe love.

Maybe love.

* * *

"Almost there." Karin said confidently. After several discarded ideas (mostly Naruto's) and a couple more crazed attacks (all Suigetsu's), they had finally reached a solution and were, by her calculations, only a few meters away from the break.

"It's hollow over there." Kakashi said, sharingan exploring the expanse of collapsed stone and searching for stable points in the wreckage. Karin nodded to confirm this before wincing as Suigetsu smashed an overly large fist into it.

"_Easy_." She hissed through her teeth. The offender merely smirked infuriatingly, swiping aside the rubble and casting light on the two missing ninjas. Who were currently making-out like there was no tomorrow and either didn't notice the intrusion, or didn't care enough to stop.

Silence fell over the rescue team; some in shock, others indifference, and more than one in unadulterated horror.

"W-what is she, GET OFF OF SASUKE!!" Karin screeched, moving to enforce this order. Naruto numbly grabbed one of her arms and Jugo took the other. Jeeze, Sakura had always had a crush on Sasuke, but he hadn't expected to see THAT. He hadn't thought that Sasuke would hurt her, not really, but he hadn't thought that Sasuke would be quite that… friendly.

"Actually, I believe that Sasuke-kun is on top of Sakura." Sai corrected, smiling innocently.

"Not helping, Sai." Kakashi said, sighing. It was an odd turn of events, but perhaps one he should have seen coming. At least now Sasuke would be returning with them.

"Uh, Sakura?" Naruto asked, leaving Jugo to take care of Karin. Sakura pulled away and looked up at him, blushing heavily at their audience as if she was just realizing that her legs were twined around Sasuke's torso, one hand resting on his chest and the other tangled in his hair.

"Hi Naruto." She said meekly, trying to untangle her limbs, but quickly discovering that Sasuke didn't seem to want to budge. "Sasuke." She whispered in his ear. He grumbled and shifted off of her.

"I, um," She hastily readjusted her top, ran her fingers through her hair and hoped to every god she knew of that there wasn't a hicky on her neck before concluding lamely "got Sasuke back."

The indicated ninja smirked at her uncomfortable demeanor, running his hand up her back. He couldn't argue with that.

* * *

After several hours, some laughter, some crying, a lot of yelling and more legal jargon than anyone cared to hear, Sasuke found himself in a windowless room two doors away from the Hokage's office. Behind a locked door, with guards stationed at every possible escape route. He sighed heavily, wishing Sakura were there if only so that he could say 'I told you so'. Well, he supposed he was getting off light, as technically his head should have been on a pike right now. Which might have been preferable, considering he would have been able to escape without Sakura getting after him if the alternative was death. Being locked in a room hardly constituted putting their escape plan into action, but it was plenty annoying. A lamp flickered silently by the wall, and Sasuke heaved a sigh before laying down his cot, glad that they had finally taken off the hand-cuffs. It wasn't much, and it would certainly take a while to reintegrate into the village that had once been his home, but maybe it was worth it after all.

His ears perked up instantly as someone approached his room, and he tensed out of habit when someone on the other side jingled keys. The door opened to reveal a pink haired kunoichi, who smiled as she locked the door behind herself and dropped the keys back in her purse. She had found it quite amusing that they made her lock it as a formality, when Sasuke could clearly just take the keys from her if he really wanted to. But rules were rules, and she wouldn't have been in there at all if they didn't know that Sasuke had no wish to do such a thing.

"I'm here to guard the dangerous Sasuke Uchiha." She informed him gravely, before sliding into his lap and wondering just how many rules that broke. Sasuke flinched at the sudden contact, but his expression lightened a bit in spite of the conditions.

"What if he overpowers you and escapes?" He questioned.

"Oh I'm not too worried about that." She replied, waving her hand flippantly to illustrate the point.

"I heard he's a ruthless murderer, and a traitor to the village." He continued.

"Yes, but I have a secret weapon."

"Oh really?" Sasuke asked curiously. "What?" Sakura grinned.

"If said ninja escapes, then said ninja will not be restoring the Uchiha clan anytime soon." She replied smugly. Sasuke's face fell. Well, that wouldn't do.

"Well then let's say he stays." He ventured. "What then?"

"Hypothetically," Sakura began "he might have a kind, _beautiful_ girlfriend, who might one day supply help to achieve that goal." She blushed a bit as she glanced up at him. "Hypothetically."

She looked away and they drifted into silence, enjoying being together again with no time constraints. They would still be awkward around each other for a while, and having people accept Sasuke would take longer, but it could happen. And most importantly, they had time to make it happen.

"Sasuke," Sakura ventured, shifting away from him.

"Hm?" Sasuke murmured, fighting down the reaction to pull her back. A little restraint would be vital to future interactions with Sakura, unless he wanted to be on the receiving end of a restraining order. Not that she seemed to mind, he was the one who usually shied away from physical contact. Sasuke wondered vaguely how long the role reversal would last. He was pulled out of his musings by Sakura wringing her hands nervously.

"What?" He asked, giving her his full attention this time. She placed her hands on her lap resolutely and took a deep breath.

"I love you."

Sasuke absorbed this information nonchalantly. Sakura loved him. It sent a foreign prickle of excitement through him when she said it; he'd been offered that love on the night he left, and he had never truly suspected that he'd be offered it again. It was more than he deserved and he knew it. But he wanted it. For some unknown reason, she had seen fit to give him another chance, another chance to break her heart. He saw her eyes flick to him and then away just as nervously, waiting for his response. Suddenly it seemed very clear exactly what he wanted to say.

"Love you too." He replied, hesitating only a moment before leaning in to sweep her hair away from one shoulder and brush his almost-smiling lips against her neck.

It didn't seem like much time at all before Tsunade was ushering her out, making a show of doing so disapprovingly (though Sasuke thought she'd probably known that Sakura had snuck in long before), saying that it was 1am and visiting hours were far past over. But as other parts of the day faded with time, Sakura would always remember the moment Sasuke said, simply, as if it were obvious, that he loved her. Because in that instant, time had stopped, and no matter what rate it passed at later, that moment was engrained into her mind forever.

_Fin_

_AN: The cheese... I'm sorry. Also sorry if I made Karin more annoying than she really is, I know she's perfectly capable when she isn't around Sasuke, I just didn't really get a chance to show that side of her in this. I wrestled with this chapter quite a while, trying to beat back the OOC, but as I said to a reviewer: Snarky Sasuke is easy to write, Lover-Boy Sasuke considerably less so. I hope that you managed to enjoy the story anyway._

_Thanks for reading and to everyone who reviewed, convincing me that this isn't quite as crappy as I'd thought._


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